Ulatra Marai (The Rebirthing of Beauty)
In the beginning the world was cold, dark, and lifeless. All that had been was gone. The gods wept, for the dead land was all they had. The sadness was so complete that their tears covered the all the land in a great sea. The dead ground was gone and the gods' tears stopped. They looked upon the world with hope. The Father shined his light upon the world and the tears began to dry. The first land to appear was Ulatra, land of the greatest beauty. The Mother came to the land and taught it to grow trees and grass. Soon the whole of the land was covered in green. The Father called to his children, the Eld, and gave to them the land and said, "In this place you shall be its keepers, and the night's sky will be your cover, the stars will be your guide, and in this time you will be the Guardians of the Night, where your counterparts, who are fare in skin and round in face, shall guard the day." And the Eld's skin was made of night, so they might be hidden within its cloak. And the Eld lived within the woods and followed their father, but the forces of balance saw that there was too much good in the world and feared that the Shadow will be taken by the evils of the universe. So they cast the Father and Mother into the Shadow where they forever lived. As they left they granted guardians to the Eld, for without Kaelith's light, the night was too dark for even his chosen. He made guardians, Ola, Shoral, and Sorin, to watch the night with the Eld. And the Eld were divided into the Seven Houses and each but the first left the land of their origin to guard the lands abroad. The First House stayed in the Elder Wood. The light of the Three Watchers, Ola, Shoral, and Sorin, guided them and provided the light they needed to be the Father's Guardians of the Night. And they were the Eldahuan. The Second House left and went deep into the wood and found great beasts whose strength was no match for the small Eld. So Sorin gifted to them his strongest children, Ray and Fa. These siblings went to the deepest places of the wood and taught the Guardians of Night how to be strong. And they were the Eldasyl. The Third House went deep into the furthest reaches of the north, where only ice and death exist. They faught against the harsh weather, but it was too great for them and they froze in solid ice. Ola took pitty on the Third House and out of the ice that froze them she carved the most beautiful and perfect creature, and Ola called her Halona, the perfection of art. Halona immediately fell in love with the Third House who had all frozen and she wept for them. Her tears were as warm as the hottest day and the ice melted away from the Third House. Her tears warmed their blood, turning it blue, and the cold no longer harmed them. And they were the Eldakabila. The Fourth House traveled to the east and found the land damp and covered in mist. They soon found themsleves hunted by agreat beasts, the Locami, who lived within the mist. The Fourth House were no match for the creatures and they slew many of them. The Watchers feared that the Fourth House would all be slain so Shoral, with a mighty stone, slew the greatest of the beasts and out of the body of the Locami, Ola joined the mist with it, creating Maera. She then taught the Fourth House how to live within the mist as the Locami did. They learned to hide within the lands and stopped fearing the Locami. When their fear was gone, Maera taught them how to tame the beasts, and with this their change was complete. And they were the Eldanahald. The Fifth House traveled far to the south where they found a massive desert. They believed they could traverse the harsh land, but they were mistaken, for it was vast. Shoral saw that the Fifth House were dying because they did not know how to move about the desert, so he gathered the sky and the sand and made Phalir, the guide. He taught the Fifth House how to live within the desert and where to find food, water, and shade. He showed them how to move about the sands, and they learned to use this new land as any Eld would use the trees. And they were the Eldareth. The Sixth House went to the west and found the lands between the peaks. This land swollowed them and would not allow them to leave. This place was not enough for all of the House, and they began killing each other and using profane magics and performed dark acts. Their blood spilled across the land and turned it to red claw. Shoral came to them directly and taught the Sixth House to live and work together. "Let all do as they please, lest it harm none unwilling." They were moved by his words that their lives went further back than even before. Their lives became free and they never again faught without cause. And they were the Eldagar. The Seventh House dug into the earth, the last place that had yet been explored. They found the land dark and dreadful, filled with terrors none had dreamed could be true. Their fear overtook them and they fled, only to find themselves deeper in the darkness, scattered and alone. Sorin saw this and out of the stone he carved Baleena, the queen of stone. But Sorin could not stay, for his place was in the sky, so Baleena carved four other gods to help her guide the lost Sixth House back to safety. First she made her husband, Neffin to find the hearts of her people, so that they may be guided and judged so she might understand their fear. Neffin saw their hearts were filled with fear and said to Baleena that they should be hardened. Second, she made Goladii so that he may teach the Sixth House how to harden their hearts. He made their hearts as stone and forged a wall that blocked their fear. Third, she made Vinik, who was both warrior and guide. He taught the Seventh House how to travel through the caves of the darkness and how to bend the stone to their needs. Finally, from the metals of the earth, she made Sorva, who was the Clockwork God, so that the Seventh House might know reason within the madness of the dark. The Seventh House faught off the darkness and their hearts were as stone. And they were the Eldaharl.